German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his hope on Monday that British courts would provide protection for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the criminal cases he faces.
The Tagesschau newspaper quoted Schulz as saying that it would be good for the British courts to provide the necessary protection for Assange, as he will face a criminal trial if he is extradited to the United States, on charges of revealing state secrets.
WikiLeaks announced earlier that a decision is expected to be issued regarding the deportation of the site's founder, Julian Assange, to the United States during the month of March.
WikiLeaks indicated in a post on the social networking site "X" that the decision regarding the final appeal in the Assange case before the court in Britain is expected to be issued in March, without mentioning any specific date.
It is noteworthy that Julian Assange, known for publishing sensitive secret materials about American operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, was arrested in London in 2019. In June 2022, the British authorities decided to extradite him to the United States, where he may face a long prison sentence.
The United States is seeking to obtain Julian Assange , founder of WikiLeaks, on charges of conspiring to obtain and disclose information related to national defense following the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Assange, 52 years old, denies committing any wrongdoing.
Assange has been in Belmarsh Prison in London for nearly 5 years, and his final appeal will be heard in the High Court in London on February 20 and 21.
Assange’s supporters say that his life is “in danger” if the appeal fails and it is decided to extradite him to the United States, where he faces a 175-year prison sentence, while French artist Andre Molodkin, who threatened to destroy the masterpieces of Picasso, Rembrandt and Warhol if Assange died in prison, told Sky News: “In “In our disastrous time, when we have so many wars, destroying art is much more taboo than destroying human life.”